Lakers News & Information

Steve Blake traded to Golden State for Brooks, Bazemore

LakerNation.com: The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired guards Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for point guard Steve Blake, it was announced Wednesday by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

After spending the past 3+ years in Los Angeles, Blake was understandably disappointed in leaving the Lakers.

“I’ve loved my time. I’ve loved playing for coach D’Antoni,” Blake said to ESPNLA.com’s Dave McMenamin. “The freedom he gave me as a player … I’m totally grateful.”

Blake also shared the harsh reality of the effects an NBA trade can have.

“The hardest thing is really for my family, really,” Blake said. “I got a wife, three little kids and now I’m going to have to spend four months, probably, away from them and so that’s going to be the hardest part.”

When asked if Blake would consider returning to the Lakers this summer as an unrestricted free agent, he had this to say:

“Absolutely,” Blake said. “I’ve loved my time here. When you spend (time) in some place this long, you start to get comfortable. We loved where we lived, loved the schools my kids were in and always loved the support of the fans and ownership and everybody. So, it’s one of the best places I’ve ever played at and if in the future they wanted me back, I would absolutely, definitely consider it.”

Blake had been averaging 9.5 PPG, 7.6 APG and 3.8 RPG this season for the Lakers–all of which were career highs.

New Lakers -

MarShon Brooks, 25, is a 6’5″ shooting guard with excellent scoring abilities. The third-year guard has averaged 7.8 PPG, 1.4 APG and 2.2 RPG while playing in Brooklyn, Boston and Golden State. Brooks, however, is only averaging 2.6 PPG this season in 5.2 MPG.

Kent Bazemore, 24, is also a 6’5″ shooting guard with tremendous athleticism and great length on the defensive end. The second-year guard has averaged 2.1 PPG, 0.4 APG and 0.6 RPG in the NBA, while also spending multiple stints in the D-League.

Neither Brooks nor Bazemore are under contract past this season. The move does, however, save the Lakers about $4 million in salary and luxury taxes. No draft picks were exchanged in the deal.